Jane Eyre – Jane Rejects St John

Jane Eyre – Jane Rejects St John

A comprehensive and professionally structured resource exploring Jane’s rejection of St John Rivers and its significance to her moral and emotional independence in Jane Eyre.

This resource examines St John’s proposal that Jane should marry him and accompany him to India as a missionary’s wife. It considers why Jane is willing to support his work but refuses a marriage without love, recognising that accepting his demands would require her to surrender her feelings, judgement and individual identity.

Key features:

• Clear analysis of St John’s proposal, religious ambition and attempts to present his personal demands as a moral duty
• Focus on Jane’s financial independence, secure family relationships and increased freedom to determine her own future
• Exploration of commanding language, cold and hard imagery, Victorian gender expectations and the conflict between duty and personal identity
• Examination of retrospective narration, Gothic atmosphere, natural symbolism and the structural contrast between St John and Rochester
• A varied selection of activities supported by a complete answer key